상장폐지위험이 외부감사 교체에 미치는 영향

[Purpose]The purpose of this study is to examine the effect of delisting risk on the replacement of external auditors of companies. First, we test whether companies at risk of delisting have a high tendency to replace external auditors in advance. Next, we analyze whether companies with high risk of delisting change large auditors (Big) to small auditors (Non－Big). [Methodology]From 2002 to 2020, two types of logistic regression are performed on 29,856 samples of companies listed on the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets. As a major variable, the previous period (1－3 years) of delisted companies is measured as a dummy variable, so called ‘the delisting risk’. We examine the relationship between delisting risk and auditor replacement, also the relationship between the delisting risk and the auditor size. [Findings]When there is a risk of delisting, the tendency to replace with a new auditor increase. At this time, when there is a change of auditor, the tendency to change from a large auditor (Big) to a small auditor (Non－big) increase. This results suggest that if there is a risk of delisting, the company intends to replace it with an auditor with low audit quality in advance. [Implications]This study suggests that when a company has a risk of delisting, it is taken into consideration in advance and reflected in the auditor replacement. Although many previous studies focus on the characteristics of a company in the year of delisting, this study suggests that companies strategically reflect this in their external audit choices even before they recognize the risk of delisting.